The Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA) and the Inspectorate of Government (IG) entered into a memorandum of understanding this morning. The MOU was signed at the IG premises. This marks one of the many partnerships that the FIA, and IG alike have entered into to ensure that that they both achieve their mandates. The Anti-Money Laundering Act(AMLA) imposes a number of duties and responsibilities on the different players in the fight against money laundering. These players include institutions referred to as ‘’competent authorities’’ defined in Section 1 of the act to mean ‘’ investigative, prosecuting, judicial, regulatory, or supervisory authorities of the Government of Uganda, including the Financial Intelligence Authority’’. In this regard the Inspectorate of Government is a competent authority by virtue of being both an investigative and prosecutorial agency of the Government of Uganda.

Execution of the MOU signals the Inspectorate of Governments commitment to complying with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and support to the FIA in achieving its mandate.

While the IG is mandated to investigate and prosecute corruption and related offences (among many other things) the FIA is a body corporate established under S.18 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act with a mandate to combat money laundering and deter the financing of terrorism in Uganda.

Money laundering, simply put, refers to a financial transaction scheme that aims at concealing the identity, source, and destination of illicitly-obtained money. The money laundering process can be broken down into three stages. First, the illegal activity that garners the money and places it in the launderer’s hands. Second, the launderer passes the money through a complex scheme of transactions to obscure who initially received the money from the criminal enterprise. Third, the scheme returns the money to the launderer in an obscure and indirect way.

Corruption is the main predicate offence for money laundering in Uganda. This makes the IG a key partner to the FIA in the fight against money laundering. To this end the FIA will be sending a significant number of its findings to the Inspectorate of Government to form the basis of the Inspectorate’s investigations and prosecutions where deemed necessary and/or appropriate.

The purpose therefore of signing this MOU is not only to ensure cooperation between the two entities through transparent, effective, and well streamlined information sharing but also to mutually benefit both organizations in realizing their respective mandates.